


The Dark Places Between Stars

by aionimica



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Reluctant Relationship, tags to be updated as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-22
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-09-01 14:21:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8627890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aionimica/pseuds/aionimica
Summary: Rey doesn't remember anything.Neither does he.





	

**Addendum to BRIEFING OF BATTLE OF LAYYN**

**CONFIDENTIAL: TOP SECRET**

 

**BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION**

GEN. PARON: Squadron Leader Dameron, your reported to General Organa upon your return that there was some additional information you would like to disclose on the record. Pertaining to the recovering of Resistance member Rey.

DAMERON: Yes, sir.

GEN. PARON: Would you like to begin?

DAMERON: Yes, sir.

GEN. PARON: You may proceed.

DAMERON: As previously stated, Rey was aboard a shuttle that was shot down during the fight. Her identification codes were unknown to us and was broadcasting an old Imperial code, identifying as derelict shuttle of Palpatine's. As such, we were unable to recognize her location during the battle with First Order fighters and at some point during the attack, the shuttle sustained irreparable damage and crash landed on the surface of Layyn.

GEN. PARON: That is correct. What happened next?

DAMERON: Gold Member Three found her in the rubble. The shuttle was shattered and broken, but he managed to cut his way through.

GEN. PARON: And what did he find?

DAMERON: Rey was found unconcious. Alive and relatively unharmed with the exception of some superficial wounds. But she was also found along with First Order member Kylo Ren.

GEN. PARON: Was he conscious?

DAMERON: No, sir. Once of the rest of the squadron joined Gold Three, he was taken into custody.

**(TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: AT THIS POINT, THE MICROPHONE WAS MUFFLED, UNABLE TO DETERMINE CORRECT TRANSCRIPTION)**

GEN. PARON: Poe, all ---- already on --- record and has been -cussed by the Council. The General is --- of what Ren in custody --- mean for the Resistance.

**(TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: AFTER A PAUSE, THE MICROPHONE CLEARED, THE FOLLOWING TRANSCRIPTION RESUMES)**

DAMERON: This has to do with Rey, specifically.

GEN PARON: What about her?

DAMERON: Sir-

GEN. PARON: Might I remind you Dameron, that this is a confidential briefing. No one will have access to this except the General and the Council.

DAMERON: And what about her brother?

GEN PARON: Skywalker? Unless the matter is deemed part of his expertise- Is this a part of his expertise?

DAMERON: I don’t know, sir, but the way we found her was… concerning.

GEN. PARON: How so?

DAMERON: She had been on blackout mission for the past several standard weeks. We haven’t heard anything - Finn and I, well, we just assumed that she was doing her job, but after what happened above Layyn-

GEN. PARON: The point, Dameron?

DAMERON: She and Kylo Ren were found together. Next to each other in the shuttle.

GEN. PARON: Dameron. Let me make one thing clear: you are a capable pilot and a damned good friend. I don’t know what you’re implying, but you need to be very careful with what you decide to say next.

DAMERON: Sir, when we tried to pull her from the wreckage, she wouldn’t let go of his hand. We had to pull them apart.

**END TRANSCRIPTION.**

 

* * *

 

 

Every part of her burned.

It had lessened a bit since she first came too. It definitely wasn't as bad as when she woke on the frieghter en route to wherever they were taking her. Just the act of openeing her eyes had sent machines trilling and droids rushing to attend to her. She wasn't aware of much. Suspended in a tank, a mask strapped to her face, she drifted in a warm bath, too hurt to even move. Blessedly that trip was a blur. Either they slipped her something through the bacta or she drifted into a healing trance -- regardless, the black void she slept in was merciful.

But even now, she burned. Despite her time in the bacta, every nerve, every inch of her was on fire. Joints ached and old scars that were split open again begged her to take it slowly. Just walking around was an effort and Rey couldn't help but wonder if she even would have lived if she ever was on Jakku in such a state. No, she decided. She would have been left at the feet of Star Destroyer, joining the ashes and bones of the servicemen buried beneath them. And if the wounds weren't enough, there was that pressure - constantly building and piercing - in her head that never seemed to abate.

Ironically, it was her hand that burned the most.

When she looked at it, there was nothing to see. It sustained no damage, it was completely whole compared to the rest of her, bitten and scarred, and it functioned perfectly. But if she were to lay her other hand across it, in perfect imitation, it burned and burned. Not even the bacta seemed capable of silencing it. 

She could open her eyes now. No machines rushed to her aid, but hardly anyone appeared to be in any rush to see her. They were out there, watching her - she could feel them pacing about - but they never came in. Not that there would be much room for visitors. A small room with one door and no windows greeted her. It had been her view for days, since she awoke from the bacta. At first, she thought it was one of the healing suites on board the freighter, but once they noticed that she was moving around, nameless faces came in fatigues and bound her wrists. Their faces were familiar enough and their manner was kind, but still. It left no impression that she was anywhere other than a prison cell.

Rey was used to being alone. She could stand a little bit of it again.

One scab drifted along her wrist and traced up her arm. She twisted the manacles and scratched it with a finger. She almost had as many scars as freckles - if that was even possible. She curled her legs beneath her on the bench, shifting herself in her grey fatigues. She was alright with being alone, but it would defintiely help if she only she knew where here was…

“Rey?”

Manacles shifted and clanked as she pulled herself up, brows knit together in a frown. She knew that voice. No matter where she was, she definitely knew that voice.

“Rey are you alright?”

Rey blinked and peered through the slats in the door. Out there it was white and grey, steel frames hanging from the ceiling. And directly behind the door stood a former stormtrooper in pilot fatigues, his face stretched in worry. “Finn?”

He leaned up against the door, catching sight of her. His exhale was audible, the relief evident in his laughter. “Yeah, I’m here.” He shook his head. “I’m glad you’re here too.”

“Where is here?” If Finn was here, then Poe wasn’t far away. And if Poe was here, then they were with the Resistance. But she didn’t remember this base… The walls were unfamiliar and though she never spent time in any of the cells in their previous bases, this was one was strange and foreign.

“Dantooine,” he said.

Dantooine. Visions surfaced in her mind of ruined enclaves and shattered crystal caverns. The legends of this planet were bathed in blood and buried in bones. Stories Luke told over campfires were all she knew of the planet, but they did little other than to make it more than a myth in her mind. Some nights she wondered how it hadn’t already crumbled into dust.

If it were anyone else telling her, she probably would have doubted them, but since it was Finn… Rey looked around. The walls of her cell were smooth and it wasn’t steel building the walls - it was stone. She walked over for a moment, touching her fingertips to the stone. It was old - ancient - and reverberated through the Force with a pounding cry.

He wasn’t lying. But- A chill ran down her arms and Rey resisted the urge to walk away. She turned back to the door, peering through to her friend. 

“Why am I in _here,_ Finn?”

He swallowed and didn’t bother to ask what she meant. If he saw her, then he could see the manacles, thick around her wrists and jutting out over her hands. “Just protocol. The mission went south, I guess you could say that. They’re keeping an eye on everyone involved until it can be sorted out.”

Rey nodded. That made sense, or it would have - should have? If a mission went wrong, they had to ensure the survival of the Resistance. But that didn’t answer her question. Finn didn’t even bother to try, and it did nothing to quiet the dread that began to burrow its way through her stomach. That always happened after missions, but Rey tried to shake it off. It always took a bit for her to calm back down. She did nothing wrong, she always did her duty.

But why was she in here? A piece didn’t fit, leaving gaping, jagged holes in her memory. What was it? She winced, raising her bound hands to her forehead. Kriff, why couldn't she think?

“Rey, it’s really important that you tell them everything.”

She looked up suddenly. The pressure in her head abated. “What?”

“They’re going to ask you some questions,” Finn said quietly. He glanced over his shoulder quickly. The dread in her stomach grew. Finn leaned up against the door, his eyes lined with worry. “It's alright. It's just protocol. But I need you to promise me. It’s very important that you tell them everything.”

“Finn-” She stepped forward. “It’s alright. I’m ok. You don’t have to worry about me.”

She winced as the pressure came back. Alright, she could take the hint. After whatever this was, she needed another healing trance.

“Rey, you have to tell them everything. I need you to promise me that,” he said again, pressing.

“Why do you keep saying that?” Her fingers began to twitch

“You were in a space battle. Above Layyn.”

She frowned. “No I wasn’t.”

“Force, Rey-” Finn’s face fell, twisted and distorted in confusion as he pulled away from the door. She frowned and rushed forward. A few other bodies joined his. Through the slats she could make out varied words, exchanges and phrases that didn’t make sense. The pressure swelled again until she turned away, holding her palms against her head.

She didn’t look up when the door opened. She didn’t look as two Resistance soldiers flanked her and steered her from the cell.

“Rey, you have to tell them the truth.” Finn said from behind her. Why did he keep saying that? She thought through the red haze on her vision. Why wouldn’t she? She always told the truth.

 

~

 

The light was blinding, everything was white. Shackles still clanked around her wrists, but they left her fingers free. She sat alone on a stool in the middle of a room. It was almost identical to her cell, except for the veins of onyx ore that creeped and curled across the grey stone.

Closing her eyes, she pursed her lips and took a deep breath. It would be alright. With the waves of her breath, the Force ebbed against her, the warmth of its stream reassuring. It flickered against her consciousness, and despite the absence of anyone else, Rey for once felt at ease.

“Rey.”

She looked up, trying to find the source of the voice, but came up empty. No one walked through the door. She grasped for the reassurance of the Force, but the stream drifted away. _No, no_.

Steeling herself, Rey glanced around. The Force was still there, keeping its eye on her. She wasn’t alone, not quite. “Yes?”

“Forgive me, that we have to meet under such circumstances,” said the voice. “My name is General Paron. I work with General Organa.”

“Sir.”

“I do apologize that we have to conduct this interview under these circumstances, but I’m sure with your… ability that you understand the need for separation.”

Ability. Her use of the Force. The fact she was a Jedi. “Oh.”

“Shall we begin?”

Rey looked around nervously and nodded.

“Excellent. You were found in a crashed shuttle on Layyn. It was shot down during a fight planetside. Do you remember this.”

She shook her head. Finn said the same thing, but that didn’t make any sense. The Force flashed red, her blood on high alert. “That’s impossible, sir. I’ve never been to Layyn.”

“Are you sure?” The voice sounded surprised. Wary.

“I’ve never been to Layyn, General,” she said. “I was on a supply run before I blacked out and woke up on a freighter.”

“What of the details of the mission you were on?” he tried.

“What mission?”

The voice sighed. “You were on a mission, assigned by Resistance Command a little over three months ago. Were you compromised?”

“Three days ago I was on the Falcon flying a supply run with Poe and Finn.” They stopped overnight on Naboo and got drunk. Chewie was particularly difficult to herd back to the freighter - he took up all the bunks.

“Miss Rey, according to Resistance records, that run was completed over five months ago. Are you saying that is what you were doing over Layyn?”

“I’ve never been to Layyn!” she said. “I’ve never flown anything there! I don’t even know where it is!”

Paron cleared his throat, the voice crisp and cold. “Might I remind you, Rey, that I am your senior officer at the moment. And that this hearing will determine the next course of action.”

She didn’t say a thing. Her thumb trembled; she couldn’t stop it, Force, she couldn’t stop anything.

On the other side of the wall, through the speakers she could hear the scratchy voice of a non-organic. After a moment it clicked: The voice of a medical droid. “She sustained no head injuries, sir. Memory is intact, according to our scans. In addition, our current scanners and indications say that she is telling the truth.”

Paron growled. “Then she’s particularly good at lying. She’s a jedi, they aren’t limited to your scans.”

“I’m not!” she protested.

“You were struck down above Layyn in a shuttle broadcasting old Imperial codes. The shuttle matches markings and identification belonging to Palpatine. How can you explain that?”

“I can’t, I can’t,” she said fumbling. The Force brushed against her, thready and weak, and when she reached for reassurance, for truth, all she found was emptiness. What was wrong with her? She closed her eyes. _I just want Luke, I just want Luke_. He’d know what to say, what to do. “I don’t know what happened.”

She looked up to the blank wall, where she could feel Paron and the rest of the Resistance. They were all watching her, talking to each other. Though she couldn’t hear them, she could feel their mutterings.

 _They don’t believe you_.

The air left her chest in a spasm as a wave of anger and pain crested and crashed, overwhelming and unavoidable. Her fingers clenched against the cold manacles, riding the wave until it subsided, leaving her with just the river of the Force she touched before.

“You were there, Rey,” Paron said simply. “Gold Squadron pulled you from the wreckage and saved your life. You were with First Order member Kylo Ren. How can you explain that?”

The tremors started in her hands and didn’t stop. Rey wasn’t sure they would ever stop.

"I can’t,” she said again and again. “I can’t, I’m sorry.” The red light flashed in her eyes, a pain sparking in the back of her mind. Someone, somewhere - not very far away - cried out in rage. Rey swallowed, suddenly feeling very small. Everything she knew, everything she had learned felt inconsequential. “I don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember?” Paron was weary. He didn’t believe her.

She shook her head, searching for any form of purchase, but she couldn't seem to grab on. Even though she was seated, Rey was falling and falling, with no hope of ever climbing back and her perfect hand screamed in pain. “I don’t remember anything.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I AM GOING TO FINISH THIS ONE YOU GUYS I PROMISE.


End file.
